Last Update Information —
Total books read: 1
Update in 6 words: well that didn’t go as planned
Comments: As I suspected, my planned reading day disappeared due to moving activities. And I was so hoping to read a ton. Between activities, I did squeeze in reading The Walking Dead Book 4. I guess all was not lost. On to hopefully actually participating in the Spring into Horror readathon starting tomorrow.
The original plan was that J would be in San Jose until tomorrow. So I would be free to read, read, and read some more. Well, he came back early. And a coworker decided to throw me a going away party at noon. And we have more packing to do. So my original plan of read, read, and read some more has become maybe squeeze in some reading here and there. I still want to commit to some reading today.
TBR Pile:
Here we go!
Pages read:
Total pages read:
Books read:
Total books read:
Update in 6 words:
This is it. I am beat. I really didn’t plan all that well and am ready to be done reading. I’ve developed a headache in the last two hours which hasn’t helped. I haven’t felt awesome all day. I wonder if I’m coming down with something. Anyway, I’ve decided to throw in the towel. I’ve been up for many hours, reading for 8. I finished three books. Three books that took 5 spots in my reading challenges. I participated in 3 mini challenges. I think I have a respectable showing for my first 24-Hour Readathon. I want to do this again in April. But before then I seriously need to think about my game plan a bit more. See you then!
Number of books I’ve read: .5
Total number of books I’ve read: 3
Pages Read: 292
Total Pages Read: 1115
Time Read: 2 hours 13 minutes
Total Time Read: 8 hours 2 minutes
My goals:
My TBR pile:
Title: Night World Vol. 1 (Secret Vampire, Daughters of Darkness, Spellbinder)
Author: L.J. Smith
Publisher: Simon Pulse 2008
Genre: Vampires
Pages: 752
Rating: 4 / 5 stars
Reading Challenges: Vampires; 2011 – Show It Who’s Boss
How I Got It: I own it!
Vampires, werewolves, witches, shapeshifters — they live among us without our knowledge. Night World is their secret society, a secret society with very strict rules. And falling in love breaks all the laws of the Night World.
In Secret Vampire, Poppy thought the summer would last forever. Then she was diagnosed with terminal cancer. Now Poppy’s only hope for survival is James, her friend and secret love. A vampire in the Night World, James can make Poppy immortal. But first they both must risk everything to go against the laws of Night World.
Fugitives from Night World, three vampire sisters leave their isolated home to live among humans in Daughters of Darkness. Their brother, Ash, is sent to bring the girls back, but he falls in love with their beautiful friend.
Two witch cousins fight over their high school crush. It’s a battle between black magic and white magic in Spellbinder.
I was a bit hesitant going into this series. I love the Twilight saga, but am a bit done with the sparkly vampires genre. Thankfully this series is a bit more series vampires than sparkly vampires. This definitely reminded me of L.J. Smith’s other series The Vampire Diaries. Now I wasn’t a huge fan of that series. Amazingly enough, I love the television series better than the book series. I was happily surprised by this series.
Secret Vampire — A good classic boys meets girl story although this boy is a vampire and this girl is dying. I loved the characters of James and Phillip. They were likable and believable. I thought that at times Poppy was incredibly childish acting. Especially so when we compare her to her brother’s behavior. It made me wonder about the difference in maturity levels between her and James. Thankfully she did seem to grow up at the story progressed. The timeline was just a bit rushed for my tastes.
Daughters of Darkness — Definitely my favorite from this volume. I love the reintroduction of bad boy Ash. We see him as the lethal vampire in Secret Vampire, and here we get to see his true nature. I also loved the interactions between Ash and his sisters. They were a treat, especially Kestrel. I hope to read more about her in future volumes. My problem with this story lies in the ending. It’s just so unbelievable. I thought that soulmates would do anything to be together. Instead, Mary-Lynnette is content to let Ash leave and when he says he’ll come back next year, she’s completely noncomittal. Doesn’t sound like a true love…
Spellbinder — I always love a good story involving witches. And this one was great with supernatural entities, romance, and jealousy. All around I liked the story. My only issue was with Blaise. If I was Thea, I would have gotten seriously pissed at her and left her in the dust. At least in the end she atoned for her crimes against Thea.
Mid-Event Survey:
1. What are you reading right now? In the middle of Night World Vol. 1; really liking it so far
2. How many books have you read so far? 2.5
3. What book are you most looking forward to for the second half of the Read-a-thon? The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy — that’s if I don’t crash before then. I’m really not doing so well today.
4. Did you have to make any special arrangements to free up your whole day? Nope. No work or commitments today
5. Have you had many interruptions? How did you deal with those? Yeah… overslept, eating out for breakfast/lunch, sanity break for my eyes. I think I’m really doing okay for my first time.
6. What surprises you most about the Read-a-thon, so far? Just how great the cheerleaders have been. Thanks for all the support!
7. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year? got nothing
8. What would you do differently, as a Reader or a Cheerleader, if you were to do this again next year? Plan my day and breaks a bit better
9. Are you getting tired yet? Oh yes
Number of books I’ve read: .5
Total number of books I’ve read: 2.5
Pages Read: 192
Total Pages Read: 823
Time Read: 1 hours 23 minutes
Total Time Read: 5 hours 49 minutes
My goals:
My TBR pile:
Number of books I’ve read: 1.3
Total number of books I’ve read: 2.3
Pages Read: 442
Total Pages Read: 631
Time Read: 2 hours 30 minutes
Total Time Read: 4 hours 26 minutes
My goals:
My TBR pile:
Title: The Boys Vol 6: The Self Preservation Society
Author: Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson
Publisher: Dynamite 2010
Genre: Graphic Novel
Pages: 200
Rating: 5 / 5 stars
Reading Challenges: None
How I Got It: J owns it
It had to happen sooner or later: the supes get mad enough to go after the Boys. One of the world’s most powerful superteams decides to hit our heroes, all guns blazing, and the Female is the first to fall into their lethal trap. The sixth Dynamite collection of Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson’s The Boys is here, complete with a cover gallery.
Wow! We get an altercation with Payback, plus some of their origin story. A shakeup with VA and the Seven. And origin stories for MM, Frenchie, and the Female. What a volume! I’ve really come to care about The Boys and what happens to them. I want to see MM avenged, Frenchie loved, and The Female become human. I want Wee Hughie to be happy, whether with Starlight or not. And I want to see Butcher made whole again. We don’t know his story yet, but I’m sure it’s a good one. I’ll just have to wait for the next installment.
Second update. Only a few hours in for me (7 for the readathon), but I’ve made good progress. I finished my first book and reviewed it with updates to my reading challenges page. I’ve also participated in two mini challenges. Here’s my second one from Lisas’s World of Books:
Top 5 What are the 5 books you are looking forward to in the next few months or really into next year?
Number of books I’ve read: 1
Total number of books I’ve read: 1
Pages Read: 161
Total Pages Read: 189
Time Read: 1 hour 33 minutes
Total Time Read: 1 hour 54 minutes
My goals:
My TBR pile:
Title: Brave New World
Author: Aldous Huxley
Publisher: HarperCollins 1932
Genre: Classics
Pages: 268
Rating: 5 / 5 stars
Reading Challenges: Science Fiction; 2011 – Back in the Day: A to Z Author X
“Community, Identity, Stability” is the motto of Aldous Huxley’s utopian World State. Here everyone consumes daily grams of soma, to fight depression, babies are born in laboratories, and the most popular form of entertainment is a “Feelie,” a movie that stimulates the senses of sight, hearing, and touch. Though there is no violence and everyone is provided for, Bernard Marx feels something is missing and senses his relationship with a young women has the potential to be much more than the confines of their existence allow. Huxley foreshadowed many of the practices and gadgets we take for granted today–let’s hope the sterility and absence of individuality he predicted aren’t yet to come.
This is one of those books that I try to read every couple of years. I first encountered Huxley’s dystopian tale in high school. It spoke to me. I found danger in the words. A danger that we can avoid if we pay attention. I think this book cemented my love of the social sciences. I wanted to learn more about psychology and sociology and government and philosophy and art and history.
While reading, I still find myself stopping and contemplating passages. I read paragraphs. I digest the thoughts and insights into the human experience. Huxley’s book speaks to as a philosophy tract albeit more engaging. I love the story of revelation and loss. I love the characters for their stereotypes and flaws. My favorite has to be Mustapha Mond who sacrificed his curiosity and education for safety within the civilized world. I cry over John the Savage’s discovery of and then loss of the world. I rail against Bernard’s waffling. All in all, Huxley has produced the best characters to illustrate his vision of a possible future.
Late start to the readathon. I overslept!!! Oh well, got started a bit ago. This is my first check-in.
1)Where are you reading from today? Trying to first finish Brave New World that I started two days ago. It’s a reread, but I haven’t revisisted it in awhile.
2)Three random facts about me… I love pickles, have a fear of clowns (and really anything human like but not human), and hate my first name (hence the moniker TFrances).
3)How many books do you have in your TBR pile for the next 24 hours? Too many… 13. I know I won’t get to all, but it’s nice to have options.
4)Do you have any goals for the read-a-thon (i.e. number of books, number of pages, number of hours, or number of comments on blogs)? Just to read as much as I can. Hopefully J keeps himself occupied.
Number of books I’ve read: 0
Total number of books I’ve read: 0
Pages Read: 28
Total Pages Read: 28
Time Read: 21 minutes
Total Time Read: 21 minutes
My goals:
My TBR pile:
Per aspera ad astra!
"Through difficulties to the stars"
Wading Through the Ocean of Life 